Welcome Fren! š
Today, it makes sense to discuss the number 1 investment you can make in this lifetimeā¦Ā
Your Health
If youāre sitting on $1B and canāt get out of bed due to poor health, how is that enjoyable at all?Ā
Itās not
Felix Dennis briefly touched on the consequences of not maintaining his health in the early days of his success in āHow To Get Richā (everyone should read this book)
As of 2020 36.3% of the US Population was classified as clinically obeseā¦ that number has rising for the past few decades.ā
Coupled with a general decline in physical activity required for daily living (technology advances, delivery services, lockdowns,) and it should be clear that there has never been a more important time to guard and care for our health.
So what the hell does this have to do with Food as Finance?
Sinpleā¦Ā
As many of you found The Jungle through the WSP blog/twitter, itās natural that the audience speaks primarily a language geared around finance and growing wealth.
While there is culinary interest in The Jungle, Octopod wants to make a direct comparison between Food & Finance that should highlight the vast importance in taking control of what you put in your bodyā¦
Letās Talk Compounding:
To make sure we are all starting from an even playing field, the idea of compound interest is one of the most powerful financial principles in regards to accumulating profits and growing wealth.
Compound Interest is based on the premise that small, consistent, gainsā¦ continually added on top of each other, will result in exponential gains.Ā
Mark Twain said famously: āāCompound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.ā
Given this powerful maxim, itās surprising that more people arenāt seeing the correlation between finances and food.
Why Food?
Sinpleā¦ your body requires daily energy and fuel to function and thrive.Ā
But thereās a big problemā¦ our bodies are extremely adaptable and flexibleā¦ For Better or Worse!
What do I mean?
Your body will compound whatever you put into it.Ā
If you decide to live off frozen pizza, UberEats and Twinkies, your body will slowly adapt to the influx of seed oils, stabilizers, HFCS and the host of other non-nutritious fillers that permeate these foods. Over time, there will be a slow erosion. First in energyā¦ you become lethargic. Maybe you start to feel slight bloating but itās no big deal, because itās a slow steady build up that becomes ānormalāā¦ then maybe your insulin levels get out of whack, your blood pressure goes up, your resting HR elevatesā¦.Ā
And the one thing no one talks about is that your palate becomes completely dulled to flavors.
This is all COMPOUND INTEREST at work in your body
The flip side?
You consume healthy fats, rich proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables bursting with vitamins, minerals, and healthy sugars. Your body will thank you with elevated energy levels, elimination of brain fog, decreased blood pressure and a trim feeling of not carrying bloat aroundā¦. This becomes the norm as your body is compounding for optimal health!
Take Control:
Do you want to climb a hill with a 100lb weight on your back?Ā
Neither do I
Yet, I see many people hitting the gym like crazy with little-to-no regard to what they are feeding themselves.Ā
This makes no sense..
If youāre going to put the effort into working out and put little-to-no effort into your eating, then youāre climbing that hill with a serious weightā¦ totally unnecessary.
Whatās Love Got to do with It?
The main objection I see is āI donāt like to cookā
Who cares?
Most people donāt enjoy working out, especially at the beginning of making a lifestyle change. Lame Excuse
The other objection āIām not good at cookingāā¦ thatās because you put in no repsā¦
Again, letās compoundā¦Ā
Say you have ZERO cooking inclination: start with one meal per dayā¦ eg, eggs. Start with omelettes, scrambles or hashesā¦ One day add arugula to an omelette; next day add kimchi to a hash, third day do a soft scramble over steamed rice with some soy sauce or fish sauceā¦ Spend 30-45mins on Sunday planning meals for the week.
This is the beginning of compoundingā¦Ā
The final objection, āI donāt have timeā¦ā absolute bullish!tā¦ š
If you spend 45-60 mins in a gym daily, you can carve out 30 mins a day to meal prepā¦. if you are efficientā¦ hint: Octopod thrives at efficiencyĀ
Food As Fuel:
Must address this as thereās a large subset of people that fall off their pivot to healthier living when they go down the āfood is fuelā maxi journey. This group preaches that āit doesnāt matter what food tastes like, so drink your raw eggs and chow down on that raw beef liverāā¦ Sorry, ewww!
This may work for some hardcore fitness pros that are putting in surgical-precision levels to achieve a specific physique or weight, but for most of the population you should be able to enjoy your food! Why the eff do we have tastebuds in the first place? Itās for this reason you start seeing fitness gurus baking tortillas with toppings and calling them āpizzasāā¦ sorryā¦ no.Ā
What if you could have a thriving workout routines and also look forward to your next meal(s)?
Hint: You Can
Putting it All Together
I have much more to say on this, but today we will stop here.Ā
Why is Preparing Food so Important?
Itās near-impossible to eat out/order-in food that is not full of seed oils, high-sugars and preservatives.
Youāre making life more difficult by not splitting focus on Fitness & Food. Keep your barbell balanced.Ā
Your best life will be experienced at optimal health.
Mealtime should be enjoyable and, at best, a time for making memories with others. Ā
Remember: āYou canāt turn a ship on a dime, but you can start to get it back on courseāĀ
If you havenāt hit the Octopod Paid sub yetā¦ sign up today and let Octopod help you enjoy your meals to the max while living your best lifeā¦ detailed recipes, efficiency hacks, Q&Aās, and more.
Start your Food Compounding Journey today!
To your continued health and delicious meals ahead š„Ā
"And the one thing no one talks about is that your palate becomes completely dulled to flavors."
If you can't taste the sweetness in brocolli you're doing it wrong.